State League Two Round 11 Preview

Nepean have had to grit a stick to stop them from screaming blue murder after they led Luddenham 2-0 last week only to have the game called off after half-an-hour so that paramedics could attend to an injured player, and Wanderers could just bear the brunt of a developing side that is starting to piece together some good patches of football. But Fairfield ruined a five game unbeaten sequence with a 1-0 loss to Springwood on the weekend and will be just as keen to hang out in the winners circle again.
Prospect United and Hawkesbury City meet in a mouth-watering affair at William Lawson Reserve on Saturday evening (5pm). The teams are equal-fifth on the ladder but while Prospect have suffered back-to-back losses Hawkesbury have had their own tyres stuck in the mud with five agonising draws loaded up in the season trailer. Prospect have taken two of the last three meetings between the sides, including a tight 1-0 win at William Lawson last August, but Hawkesbury?s away form has been delicious this year. City are unbeaten on the road in 2011 with three wins and two draws speeding off down the highway towards Richmond. The stakes are high in this game.
Springwood United and Roosters FC clash in another blockbuster at Summerhayes Park on Saturday night (7pm). Springwood will be riding high after conquering their road demons with a 1-0 win over Wanderers at Fairfield on the weekend and can stay in touch with the top teams with another good showing against Roosters. Springwood have the same record at home that Roosters have on the road (two wins and a draw from four games) and offer different methods too, United have the league?s second best defence (10 goals) and face a Roosters troop with the second best offence (27 goals). Interestingly Roosters have won the last two meetings at Summerhayes Park.
Hakoah travel the long and winding road over the mountains to face-off against Bathurst ?75 at Alec Lamberton Field on Saturday night (7pm). Hakoah claimed fourth position on the ladder with a 4-0 rout of hapless Gazy at the weekend and can make a further surge up the leaderboard with a strong showing in Bathurst, where ?75 have just two wins and two draws from seven home showings. But Bathurst do have an historical edge with two wins and two draws from their last four encounters, in fact Hakoah haven?t scored against Bathurst in over five hours of football. But as the visitors come into this match boasting the league?s best offensive output (29 goals), that statistic could change dramatically.
Sit back and watch a beauty unfold as Hurstville City Minotaurs battle Luddenham United at Punchbowl Oval on Sunday afternoon (3pm kick-off). These two sides have built up a healthy rivalry over the last few seasons. Although Hurstville have bettered Luddenham in their last four meetings including knocking United out of last year?s championship race in the preliminary final, the encounters have always been juicy despite the fact United have managed to score just one goal against The General?s men in those four matches. This time, however, Luddenham are top of the league and ready to start settling the score against a Hurstville outfit that has just one win to their name in 2011 and desperate for a break.
Belmore Hercules challenge Northbridge FC in a great opportunity for both sides at Northbridge Oval on Sunday afternoon (3pm). Belmore are not far from the bottom of the table but have an amazing run of home matches in the second half of the season to look forward to. They might not want to wait for the reprieve though as they have just one win and three draws from seven road outings so far this season and face a Northbridge unit unbeaten in all of its home fixtures this year. The northerners are also on a great run of success, unbeaten in five games to sit just behind the division two frontrunners. With Belmore hungry to get their 2011 campaign going, this result would be a great boost for either side.
Chopin Park Rams welcome Gazy Lansvale to Chopin Park on Sunday afternoon (3pm). The Rams would love to improve their home record and stay in the top half of the division two table with a favourable result this weekend, but they will take a wounded Gazy lightly at their own peril. The Lansvale brigade is seriously hurting from an eight game losing sequence but needs nothing more than a couple of morale-boosting results to get it back up and running again. Needless to say this could be an interesting game to untangle as the Rams defence (10 goals conceded) is impeccable while the Gazy defence (40 goals) is not. However, Lansvale have scored one more goal than Chopin Park over the course of a tough season.
There are still more Waratah Cup matches to be played this week to complete round two of the knockout competition. Fairfield Wanderers tackle solid Super League outfit Northern Tigers at Knight Park on Tuesday night, May 10 (7.15pm kick-off). It will be a busy Wednesday night (May 11) when Northbridge FC battle fellow northern districts club, Super League frontrunners Spirit FC in a Christie Park blockbuster (7.15pm kick-off), and there will also be a double-header at Bensons Lane Field when Hawkesbury City host Northern Beaches association side Collaroy Cromer (6.30pm kickoff), followed by Chopin Park Rams versus Gladesville-Hornsby association representatives Eastwood-St Andrews (8.15pm).
-By Daniel De Nardi